Smart home appliances need to break free from the “pseudo-smart” trap.

In recent years, driven by technological advancements and policy support, smart home appliances are rapidly integrating into people’s daily lives, becoming a significant driver of consumption upgrading. However, behind this market boom lie numerous problems and challenges. A recent interview revealed that some smart home appliances exhibit a “pseudo-smart” phenomenon. For example, smart cooking machines require frequent manual intervention, and the food preparation process is time-consuming; smartwatches fail to provide real-time data updates; and smart washing machines dispense detergent inaccurately. These problems primarily manifest as exaggerated functionality, complex operation, and a discrepancy between advertised and actual user experience. These so-called “pseudo-smart” home appliances are essentially marketing gimmicks disguised as smart technology. Merchants use elaborate advertising to paint an ideal scenario of “hands-free” and “one-click control,” attracting consumers to buy. However, in actual use, consumers face complex settings, frequent intervention, and even the failure of smart functions to deliver on expectations. This phenomenon of low-level intelligence and excessive product marketing renders smart functions mere empty promises, eroding consumer trust and hindering the healthy development of the smart home appliance industry. Intelligentization is an inevitable direction of technological progress, and the integration of smart technology into home appliances is in line with this trend. However, smart technology has certain barriers to entry and cannot be achieved overnight. Companies need to invest significant R&D resources to continuously refine their technology. However, some companies, lacking sufficient technological accumulation, are eager to seize the market, rushing to launch products before they are mature, using “smart” and “AI black technology” as gimmicks to attract attention. Even worse, some deliberately adopt vague advertising strategies, skirting the edges of smart technology, using “pseudo-intelligence” to masquerade as smart products. Currently, smart technology is still in its developmental stage. Different manufacturers have different technological approaches, industry standards are not yet perfect, and there is a lack of a unified and verifiable evaluation system for “smart” functions. Some manufacturers, with limited technical capabilities, take advantage of this situation to engage in deceptive practices. Furthermore, consumers have a relatively superficial understanding of smart products and are easily misled by advertising, making it difficult to discern the true level of smart products, thus creating opportunities for “pseudo-smart” products. Even more alarming is that “pseudo-smart” products are creating a new type of consumer trap. Consumers expect to reduce housework and improve their lives through technology, but instead, they have to spend more time learning complex operations, troubleshooting, and even manually fixing machine malfunctions. This not only deviates from the original intention of “intelligence” but also exacerbates the anxiety of using technology in the digital age. When “intelligence” becomes “idiocy,” technological convenience becomes a burden on life. The original intention of intelligent technology is to improve the quality of life, not to add burdens. When smart home appliances cannot operate stably, have complex operating logic, or are detached from real-world usage scenarios, their value is greatly diminished. Therefore, to break through the “pseudo-intelligence” dilemma, companies should strengthen technological research and development and user needs insight to ensure practical functions, system stability, and user-friendly interaction. At the same time, the industry needs to establish transparent intelligence level standards, standardize advertising, and avoid misleading consumers. Market supervision should be strengthened, and the crackdown on illegal activities such as false advertising and exaggerated functions should be intensified. Only by returning to the essence of user experience can smart homes move from “concept hype” to “practical application,” truly achieving the goal of technology serving people.